desperate to assure himself that she was in the same condition he’d left her in: alive and untouched. He’d thought that at least his friends would have given her food, water and blankets. Wrong. She could have frozen to death. She could have starved. And they wouldn’t have known.
Had they expected him to passively accept such a thing?
Wrong again.
One glance at Ashlyn’s dirty, frightened features and he’d wanted to kill someone. He’d barely leashed the urge, telling himself she’d soon be lying in his bed, naked, open to him. And while that had calmed him, it had not calmed the demon—had only managed to incite it further.
Now Violence needed an outlet for its growing rage. For only then would Maddox be able to touch Ashlyn without fear of snapping that fragile little body.
Body…Ashlyn…two words sure to arouse him when used in the same sentence. Luminous as she was, she was every fantasy he’d ever had come to life, and he planned to sate himself inside her, over and over again, taking her in every position imaginable and even some that weren’t.
Soon she would want that, too.
Desire had glistened in her eyes when she’d looked at him, and she had constantly reached for him, clearly hoping for some sort of physical contact. He’d even smelled her arousal, a perfume of passion, innocence and that delectable honey. He frightened her, though, and that fear overrode her desire.
You should be happy that Bait fears you.
Should, he inwardly scoffed. How he was coming to hate that word.
Was she Bait, though?
When he’d mentioned the four humans who’d followed her, she had appeared genuinely surprised. Horrified by his actions, true, but most women were horrified by war and carnage.
More perplexing still, she had freely admitted to knowledge of the demons. He hadn’t tortured her for the information. Why would Bait willingly do such a thing? Why not pretend she thought he was human to lower his defenses?
And so far, she had not tried to lead him from the fortress, nor had she tried to let anyone inside. But then, she hadn’t yet had the freedom to do so, he reminded himself. And she wouldn’t.
What confused him most of all, however, was that she had tried to save him from his friends. That, he couldn’t rationalize away. Saving someone she’d meant to harm was ridiculous. She could have been harmed herself.
She was a walking contradiction to his black-and-white world.
Tomorrow he would deal with her true reasons for being here. Today, well, today was meant for other things.
His boots clicked against the floor, the sound echoing from the walls. The entertainment room loomed ahead and he quickened his step. The spirit purred in anticipation as his bones ached for a fight.
When he stood in the wide expanse of the doorway, he saw popcorn scattered over the floor and ground into the crimson rug. His trained eye spotted several splotches of dried blood. Obviously Reyes had been here. For once, the TV was switched off. Balls littered the surface of the pool table, as if someone had stopped a game midway through.
But no sign of the men, not even Lucien. Where had everyone gone?
Maddox stormed through the fortress, bypassing the luxuries they’d acquired over the years. The hot tub, the sauna, the gym, the makeshift basketball court. None of that would help him.
He reached Paris’s room first and burst inside without knocking. The black silk-covered bed was rumpled but empty. The blow-up dolls Torin had purchased were sprawled in every direction, a rapt but useless audience. Whips, chains and a variety of sex toys Maddox couldn’t identify lined the walls. They weren’t in use, which meant Paris should be inside the fortress. Somewhere.
Shaking his head, Maddox stalked down the hall.
Fight. Fight. Fight.
He tried to ignore the demon’s voice as he entered Reyes’s room. No Reyes, and no sexual toys. Instead there were weapons. All kinds of weapons. Guns, knives,throwing stars. There
Had they expected him to passively accept such a thing?
Wrong again.
One glance at Ashlyn’s dirty, frightened features and he’d wanted to kill someone. He’d barely leashed the urge, telling himself she’d soon be lying in his bed, naked, open to him. And while that had calmed him, it had not calmed the demon—had only managed to incite it further.
Now Violence needed an outlet for its growing rage. For only then would Maddox be able to touch Ashlyn without fear of snapping that fragile little body.
Body…Ashlyn…two words sure to arouse him when used in the same sentence. Luminous as she was, she was every fantasy he’d ever had come to life, and he planned to sate himself inside her, over and over again, taking her in every position imaginable and even some that weren’t.
Soon she would want that, too.
Desire had glistened in her eyes when she’d looked at him, and she had constantly reached for him, clearly hoping for some sort of physical contact. He’d even smelled her arousal, a perfume of passion, innocence and that delectable honey. He frightened her, though, and that fear overrode her desire.
You should be happy that Bait fears you.
Should, he inwardly scoffed. How he was coming to hate that word.
Was she Bait, though?
When he’d mentioned the four humans who’d followed her, she had appeared genuinely surprised. Horrified by his actions, true, but most women were horrified by war and carnage.
More perplexing still, she had freely admitted to knowledge of the demons. He hadn’t tortured her for the information. Why would Bait willingly do such a thing? Why not pretend she thought he was human to lower his defenses?
And so far, she had not tried to lead him from the fortress, nor had she tried to let anyone inside. But then, she hadn’t yet had the freedom to do so, he reminded himself. And she wouldn’t.
What confused him most of all, however, was that she had tried to save him from his friends. That, he couldn’t rationalize away. Saving someone she’d meant to harm was ridiculous. She could have been harmed herself.
She was a walking contradiction to his black-and-white world.
Tomorrow he would deal with her true reasons for being here. Today, well, today was meant for other things.
His boots clicked against the floor, the sound echoing from the walls. The entertainment room loomed ahead and he quickened his step. The spirit purred in anticipation as his bones ached for a fight.
When he stood in the wide expanse of the doorway, he saw popcorn scattered over the floor and ground into the crimson rug. His trained eye spotted several splotches of dried blood. Obviously Reyes had been here. For once, the TV was switched off. Balls littered the surface of the pool table, as if someone had stopped a game midway through.
But no sign of the men, not even Lucien. Where had everyone gone?
Maddox stormed through the fortress, bypassing the luxuries they’d acquired over the years. The hot tub, the sauna, the gym, the makeshift basketball court. None of that would help him.
He reached Paris’s room first and burst inside without knocking. The black silk-covered bed was rumpled but empty. The blow-up dolls Torin had purchased were sprawled in every direction, a rapt but useless audience. Whips, chains and a variety of sex toys Maddox couldn’t identify lined the walls. They weren’t in use, which meant Paris should be inside the fortress. Somewhere.
Shaking his head, Maddox stalked down the hall.
Fight. Fight. Fight.
He tried to ignore the demon’s voice as he entered Reyes’s room. No Reyes, and no sexual toys. Instead there were weapons. All kinds of weapons. Guns, knives,throwing stars. There
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